For families

Family Resources

Idaho AEYC, the Association for the Education of Young Children, gathers the help families ask for most: finding child care, paying for it, and supporting your child in the years before kindergarten. Everything on this page is free to use.

Find child care Help paying for care

Child care

Find child care

Start close to home, and start early. Visit more than one program when you can, and trust what you see, because you know your child best.

What quality looks like

  • Teachers who get down on the child's level and talk with them through the day
  • Daily routines you can see, with play at the center
  • A clean, safe room with books and materials within children's reach
  • Staff who share how your child is growing, not only how the day went
  • A welcome for your questions before and after you enroll
Two toddlers coloring at a table with markers in a child care room
What you are looking for is a room where children are busy and an adult is close by.

Take the checklist with you. The Quality Child Care Checklist walks you through what to look for and what to ask before you enroll. Download it as a PDF.

Paying for care

Help paying for care

Child care is one of the biggest bills a family carries. The Idaho Child Care Program, usually written ICCP, helps low-income working families pay for a portion of it.

Where to start

  • Gather what you will need: recent pay stubs, your work or school schedule, and your child's information.
  • Apply for the Idaho Child Care Program, and ask any provider you are considering whether they accept ICCP.
  • Keep comparing programs while you wait. The checklist above helps.

Not sure where to begin? Contact Idaho AEYC and someone will point you to the right door.

Before kindergarten

READY! for Kindergarten

You are your child's first and most influential teacher. READY! for Kindergarten workshops support you in that role with practical ways to build early learning into ordinary time together: reading, playing, and talking through the day.

See when the next workshop runs.

Developmental milestones

Children grow at their own pace, and milestones are guideposts rather than deadlines. Knowing the age-appropriate expectations can ease everyday stress. If something worries you, raise it early with your child's doctor or provider.

Nutrition and mealtime

Feeding a young child is a daily experiment. Simple, family-tested ideas cover easy breakfasts, snacks that travel, and recipes picky eaters tend to accept.

Parent Café

Pull up a chair at a Parent Café

Parent Cafés are free, guided small-group conversations where parents share, learn, and build community. Seats are limited and each person registers individually, so save yours early.

Find a Parent Café near you

All of it

Every family resource in one place